i need to put a new gaming computer together for my nephew & i have no idea what is good & what isn't atm :p so i have slapped the following parts list together & would like to get some feedback from any gamers in the know with current hardware..

1) You've not listed a CPU Cooler (the 'K' models don't come with the OEM cooling fan, and from first hand experience, the 7700K's run erratically warm so if your case can accomodate; go with a AIO (preferably a 240mm))2) for the money you're about to spend on a GTX 1080; buy a 'Ti' model. If you need to justify a little extra headroom there, look up manufacturer's promo's and score some free games or some extra hardware for the new build using one of their claim schemes.3) Avoid the Crucial SSD. Eyeball a non-NVMe either m.2 or 2.5" SATA SSD; I'd recommend the Samsung 850 series for 'bang for buck' if not one of the now aged Intel 525's.4) do NOT put a 4TB mechanical disk in that system. Buy a NAS for storage; or an external USB HDD, and stick a second SSD in your gaming rig (1TB 2.5" SSD's are <$500 now...) go that route and thank me later.

5) Take a look at the base and then OC Clock speeds on the 7700K CPU... I'm pretty sure you want 2400MHz RAM at least (not that there's any real-world difference, but for the price difference, you might as well at least try to clock match your CPU Mobo and RAM.

I put together a fairly similar system in January into a Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX Case and am loving it (although the 120mm AIO CPU Cooler I've used isn't amazing... it at least keeps the CPU in/around 70 degrees over the summer months...)

Oh yeah; I bought a Corsair 'I-series' PSU for my build; and I would not recommend them. the thing is physically massive, and the 'i-link' software is bloatware at best...Buy a Silverstone PSU in a similar draw, and you'll find it'll be 2/3rds the size, and probably have better ratings on it's 12V rails.

the Samsung 950 256 or 500Gb has been great in my build so far. the 960 Pro with NVMe apparently do better than the 950's on large q small file r/w transfer latencies, but it's probably not very much of a real improvement especially considering the extra cost of the 960P models

i suppose it would be more noticeable of a difference in a RAID 0 configuration

as for the 4K resolution panel, an AOC (60Hz) or a BenQ gaming model (144Hz or 240Hz) would match up with a 1080 or 1080Ti well, depends on the game and the framerate/skill level that neffy has. you just have to evaluate the cost/feature differences and decide if they're worth it for you

I have an AOC u2868PQU which is 60Hz running by a 1080Ti, it doesn't have G-Sync or any of the nicer syncing related technologies of the higher end gaming panels or 21:9 monsters but it runs everything i've played on it at Ultra and then some by pushing the AA setting's to their highest in game, usually 8 or 16x depending on the engine

so yeah the 1080 Ti is really impressive. the AIO water cooling unit's are now shipping with GPU brackets that replace the OEM heatsinks and fan cooling unit's, so the price of water cooling the GPU is now much less for the same result. the only reason you'd water cool without an AIO unit now is for the enjoyment of the challenge and the look of the end result.

the price difference is massive, to give you an example i've just finished ordering the last part of a single loop ekwb cooling for the GPU and it's almost cost $900 in parts. i should have just bought another one for SLi but at least it's going to run chilly and quiet

Don't bother with an AIO, a good heat-sink/fan is fine because if your Nephew needs you to build this for him then he isn't going to and shouldn't overclock. A Noctua or Bequiet heat-sink will have overclocking headroom anyway. They are quieter as well since it is 1 fan vs 2 for a 240mm AIO and no pump noise.

Also consider getting an i5 7600k or even 7600 non k if it's just for gaming. An i7 is only worth while if he wants to stream to twitch or something. The only difference is that i5's don't have hyper-threading which most games don't take advantage of so the gaming experience is basically the same.

I personally think Corsair make ugly cases but each to their own. Check out Phanteks, NZXT and Fractal Designs cases if you haven't already.

I also think you should get an M.2 SSD, they aren't quieter but they are on board and don't require cable runs. Also recommend stretching for a larger capacity SSD over going for a platter drive as the noise saving is significant. If mass storage is absolutely necessary I would probably just go for external.

hmm true, they are kinda loud for what they're doing when they're accessing to peak i/o. I just thought it was because they're as closely connected with the motherboard as they are that the vibration of the i/c that causes it reverberate through everything connected to the main board...

if your main focus is to play DOTA 2 on the 4k screen then the 1050 is going to have the drivers that make the better use of DirectX than the Quadro

if you're going to be running software like CAD or other pro applications, the Quadro drivers probably have a slight edge in things like exposing extra OpenGL extensions that various software makes use of

I know things had gone completely stupid when even mouse pads and headphones had RGB lighting. WTF?

RGB on keyboards would be far more useful if there were a standard for programming them. Sadly, everyone has their own implementation - so you have to write everything differently for Razer, Corsair etc. There's no reason it couldn't be a common javascript library :(

RGB outside the case is all good and proper, but RGB inside the case is the way of the future! Motherboards with RGB built in, RGB ram, RGB fans, even RGB power supplies are all becoming more and more common.

Also, tempered glass cases. I love the look of some of the tempered glass cases around these days, those Corsair Crystal ones look hot but the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv is probably my favourite case atm based on looks, I would have used one in my new build myself but it doesn't fit an E-ATX motherboard comfortably. Inwin have some sexy looking cases with tempered glass as well, but they're expensive as f***.

im mid build on a gpu water cooling install in a phanteks enthoo evolv case. the thing I've seen since I've had it is the addition of hinges between the aluminium chassis and the tempered glass panel, little things like that make cleaning the dust out every few months easier on the desk

Honestly though, how much heat do LEDs really give off. If the tiny amount of heat generated by an LED is what tips your PC over the edge, then you had s***** cooling to begin with.

Non-required lights all depends on your definition of 'required', maybe I require my PC to look like a las vegas drag queen! Admitedly, most of it looks pretty awful when its flashing rainbow colours everywhere. Co-ordinated though and set to specific colours, it can bring together a colour scheme, even if you just have the led's set to white to highlight things can look cool. And theres UV Leds now too which can make for some groovy effects with showing off UV reactive coolant in a water cooling loop or something like that.

Its pure novelty, and pointless if your build isn't really worth showing off in the first place, but for more of a showy piece its fun to play with

^^ seconded. I have been on the Comfort Curve 2000 series for a few years & really like them. The versions I have have a weird manufacturing bug involving a static charge build up which stops keys working very very rarely (the fix is to literally just whack the keyboard to dissipate the charge!) but aside from that I really like them.